第7章 就职演说[8] Inaugural Address
同胞们：
今天，我站在这里，因为摆在我们面前的任务而感到自己的卑微，我要感谢你们对我的信任，同时缅怀先辈们做出的巨大牺牲。感谢布什总统为这个国家做出的贡献，以及他在整个政权交接期间展示出的慷慨与合作。
迄今已有44任美国总统在此宣誓，这些誓词曾出现在繁荣向上的时期和风平浪静的年代，当然也经常会出现在乌云密布和狂风暴雨之中。但是，无论任何时刻，美国一直在继续前行，不仅仅是因为那些执政者的技巧或视野，还包括我们对先辈们的理想保持高度的忠诚，并信守我们的建国纲领。
过去如此，我们这一代美国人亦如此。
众所周知，美国人民正处在危机之中。我们的国家正在对暴力和仇恨宣战。我们的经济也被严重削弱，其部分原因是因为贪婪和不负责任而导致的结果，也是因为我们这个整体的失败，未能做出果断的决定，也没有为国家进入新世纪而做好充足的准备。人们失去了家园，丢掉了工作，商业开始萧条，我们的卫生保健耗资巨大，太多的学校不合格……每一天都有更进一步的证据表明，我们利用资源的不当反而令我们的敌人更加强大，并且威胁到了我们整个星球。
这些都是危机的先兆，虽然无法预测估量，却已经产生了深远的影响。美国人民的信心受到重创，人们普遍害怕美国的衰退会不可避免，担心下一代美国人会降低他们的期望。今天我要对你们说，我们面临的挑战是真实存在的，这些挑战对我们来说非常艰巨。它们不可能轻易更不可能在短时间内得到解决。但大家必须认识到，我们美国终将会战胜这些困难。
今天，我们聚在一起，是因为我们选择用希望去战胜恐惧，用团结去战胜冲突与分歧。今天，我们宣布结束那些悲痛且华而不实的承诺，抛弃指责和教条主义这些扼杀我们政治发展的东西。
我们仍然是一个年轻的国家，正如《圣经》中所说的，我们该摒弃那些幼稚的行为，重申我们经久不息的精神，选择我们更好的历史，带着那些珍贵的遗产、崇高的思想向前进发，并且一代一代传承下去。上帝认为，天下众生皆平等，万物皆自由，任何人都有追寻幸福的机会。
当我们再次强调国家的伟大时，我们必须明白，伟大不是与生俱来的，而是要去争取的。我们的征途没有捷径，也没有退而求其次的选择。我们不需要胆小鬼，不需要游手好闲的人，更不需要只顾追名逐利之辈。我们需要的是爱挑战的人和勤恳踏实的人——这些人有的得到了颂扬，但是更多的人在他们的工作岗位上默默无闻地工作，正是这些人铺平了我们原本漫长而崎岖的道路，引领我们走向繁荣和自由。
为了我们，他们收拾起仅有的财产，漂洋过海寻找新的生活。
为了我们，他们在抛洒血汗的工厂辛勤工作，在西部安顿下来，忍受着皮鞭之苦，开垦荒地。
为了我们，他们在康科得、葛底斯堡、诺曼底等地作战，甚至牺牲。
这些男男女女们不停地奋斗着、牺牲着、辛勤地工作着，直到双手长满老茧，因为只有这样我们才能过上更好的生活。在他们的眼中，美国比他们个人的报负更加重要，也比所有出身、财富或者宗派之间的差别更加重要。
今天，我们会继续这样的旅程，我们仍旧是这个世界上最繁荣、最有影响力的国家。我们的工人们和这场危机发生之前一样富有生产力，我们的思想也没有就此落后，我们现在需要的商品和服务，并没有比上周、上月或者去年减少。我们工人的生产力并未衰减，但我们固守立场、保护狭隘利益和推迟做出不快决定的日子肯定已经过去。从现在开始，我们要重拾信心，拂去身上的灰尘，重新开始，再造美国。
无论我们看向何方，都有事情等着我们去做。美国现在的经济状况需要我们付诸大胆和迅速的行动。我们不仅会创造新的工作岗位，还会为经济的发展奠定新的基石。我们会修路建桥、铺设电脑网络和数字网络、促进贸易的发展并且使之与我们紧紧地联系在一起。我们会让科学重回它应有的地位，运用科技来提高医疗质量、降低成本，我们将利用太阳能、风能、潮汐能来驱动我们的汽车、运营我们的工厂。我们会对学校和大学进行变革，以此来适应新时期的要求。这一切我们都能做到，而且这一切我们都要去做。
现在，有些人站出来质疑我们的计划——说我们的制度无法承担太多的雄心壮志。他们太健忘了，因为他们已经忘记了这个国家曾经取得的成绩，忘记了只要结合想象力和共同的目标，结合必胜的信心和勇气，自由的人们就能够取得辉煌的成就。
那些愤世嫉俗的人不能够理解的是，他们脚下的土地已发生了变化——那些消耗我们太久的陈腐的政治辩论已经不再适用，我们今天所要问的问题不是说我们的政府太大或者太小，而是它能否发挥效用，它能否帮助无数家庭找到有着体面薪资的工作，获得能够负担得起的医疗保障，并且过上有尊严的退休生活。当答案是肯定时，我们就会推动这一项目。当答案是否定时，我们就会终止这一项目。那些管理公共财产的人要负起责任来，把钱花在刀刃上，改变那些不良的习惯，并且光明正大地履行公众赋予的职责——只有这样，我们才能重塑人民和政府之间的绝对信任。
我们所面临的问题不是市场的好坏。没错，市场创造财富和伸张自由的力量无以匹敌，但是这场危机提醒了我们，没有有效的监管，市场就会失控——当一个国家为了繁荣而繁荣的话，那么这个国家的繁荣就不会持久。我们经济的发展不仅取决于我们国民生产总值的总量，而且取决于我们共享繁荣的范围，取决于给每一个渴求的人带来机会的能力——不是出于怜悯，而是因为给予每个人机会的能力，这才是达到共同繁荣的必由之路。
关于公共安全的问题，我们拒绝在安全和理想之间做出选择。我们的建国先辈曾面临我们几乎无法想象的危险，依然能够拟定出法制和人权的宪章，为了捍卫理想，一代又一代人不惜抛洒热血。这些理想仍旧照耀着世界，我们不会为了权宜之计而放弃这些理想。那些关注着我们的来自世界各国的政府和人民，不论你来自宏伟的首都还是像家父出生的那种小村落，请记住，美国是所有国家的朋友，是所有追寻和平与尊严的男男女女，以及孩子们的朋友，我们已经做好了再次担任领导者的准备。
要记住，我们的先辈不仅仅是用炮弹和坦克击败的法西斯主义，还依靠了紧密的联盟以及难以磨灭的信念。他们知道，光靠自身的力量还不足以保家卫国，更不用说肆意妄为。与之相反，他们知道，只要我们谨慎使用力量，我们会变得更强；我们的安全源于我们的正义事业和我们作为榜样的力量，还有谦卑与克制的品格。
我们是这些遗产的继承者。这些原则将再次指引我们，我们也需要为击败那些威胁而付诸巨大的努力——这些威胁甚至需要国家间更紧密的合作和了解才能击退。我们会负责地把伊拉克归还给伊拉克人民，并且在阿富汗构筑起需要付出重大代价才赢得的和平；我们将和老朋友，甚至早前的敌人一起毫不松懈地削弱核威胁，积极应对正在逐步变暖的地球。但是，我们不会为我们的行为方式道歉，我们也不会动摇我们的防御体系。我们现在要对你们（核威胁。编者注）说，我们的精神更强大了，难以击败；你们不会比我们更持久，我们将击败你们！
因为我们知道，祖先遗产的汇集就是一种力量，而不是软弱。我们的国家是由基督徒、穆斯林、犹太教徒、印度教徒以及无神论者组成的。我们的国家是地球上所有的语言和文化塑造而成的。我们经历了内战和种族隔离的惨痛教训，从黑暗时期走出来的我们变得更加强大、更加团结，我们因此坚信古老的仇恨总有一天会化解，部族之间的隔阂很快就会消除。我们坚信，随着世界各国人们之间的关系变得越来越紧密，我们的人道精神会重新焕发光彩，美国必须克尽己职，在新的和平纪元里发挥其应有的作用。
对于穆斯林世界，我们会基于互惠互利和互相尊重的原则，谋求新的出路。对于那些想撒下冲突的种子、或是责备西方社会的弱点的世界上其他国家领导人，你们应该明白一点，你们的人民会根据你的成就而不是你的淫威来评判你。对于那些想通过腐败和欺骗以及打压异见者而稳定权力的领导人，你们应该明白，自己正在违逆历史潮流，但是，如果你们愿意缴械投降，我们仍将向你们伸出援助之手。
对于那些来自贫穷国家的人们，我们承诺会和你们并肩作战，努力让你们的农场变得肥沃，让清澈的泉水流过庄稼，拯救那些饥饿的身躯，喂饱那些饥饿的心灵。对于那些像我们一样相对富有的国家来说，我们不能再对在国界外受苦的人们漠不关心，我们也不能不加研究地消耗世界的资源，因为世界已经改变，我们必须与之一起改变。
当我们考虑该如何走我们眼前的路时，我们要以谦卑的态度铭记那些每小时都在遥远沙漠和山区巡逻的勇敢的美国人，今天他们有话要对我们说，就像那些躺在阿林顿国家公墓里的英雄们一样，跨越时间的界限在我们耳边细语。我们之所以尊敬他们，不仅仅是因为他们是我们自由的保护神，还因为他们体现了服务的精神；这是一种寻找超越自身意义的精神。然而在这一时刻——一个能够定义一代人的时刻——我们所有人需要的正是这种精神。
政府有许多事情可以做而且必须做，因为最终这个国家都要依赖美国人民的信念和决心。当大堤决裂时，援手救助一个陌生人的善意、无私的工人们宁愿减少工作量也不愿让一个朋友失去工作，正是这种精神，使得我们能够度过那些最黑暗的时期，它是消防员们冲进浓烟滚滚的楼梯的勇气，也是那些养育小孩并最终决定我们的命运的父母们的关爱。
我们面临全新的挑战，我们要用全新的手段迎接挑战，但是，我们的成功需要依仗的价值——诚实和辛勤地劳动、勇气和公正、忍耐和好奇、忠诚和爱国——这些品质却是一成不变的，这些东西都是真实的。它们是历史进程中无声的力量，我们要做的就是回归这些真理。现在需要我们做的是开辟一个肩负起责任的新纪元——每一个美国人都要认知，我们对自己、对这个国家、对整个世界都负有责任，不是勉强接受的责任，而是当仁不让。我们都知道，没有什么事情要比全身心地投入到解决困难的任务中，更能满足我们的精神，更能塑造我们的人格。
这就是作为一位公民的代价和承诺。
这是我们自信的源泉——是上帝在召唤我们去塑造未知的命运。
这是我们自由和信念的意义所在——正因为有了它，才使得不同种族的善男信女，还有孩子们能够在这里欢聚一堂；正因为有了它，一个人今天站在这里，在大家面前庄严地宣誓，而他的父亲60多年前却在当地的小餐馆里遭遇不公。
让我们记住这一天，记住我们是谁、我们走了多远。在美国诞生之初，在最寒冷的岁月里，一小队爱国志士围着河边快要熄灭的篝火，此时河流已经冰封。首都被遗弃了，敌人在进攻，雪地被鲜血染红，当我们的革命成败茫然未知的时候，我们的国父下令让人民宣读下面的誓言：
“让我们告诉未来的世界……在冰天雪地的严冬里，当只有希望和美德可以存活下来的时候……这个城市和这个国家，都必须挺身迎向前方的危险和困难。”
美国！现在我们面临共同的危险，经历险境重重的严冬，让我们铭记这些不朽的话语。我们要用希望和美德勇敢地面对无情的寒流，经受狂风暴雨的洗礼。我们要告诉子孙后代，当我们经历考验的时候，绝不会让这段旅程终结，我们没有掉头，没有畏缩，而是坚定地望着前方。承蒙上帝的恩典，我们带着自由的礼物前进，并把它世代传承下去！
谢谢你们！愿上帝保佑你们！愿上帝保佑美利坚合众国！
附：英文原文
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit;to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America! In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.